Liposuction is special surgical method, reducing the amount of fat tissue by introduction of physiological solution and aspiration.

Liposuction does not reduce the sensitivity to insulin neither increases risks of coronary artery disease.

Gastric balloon

This technique is safe. Gastric balloon is placed into stomach to help to cope with obesity.

It is a soft balloon with saline, which is placed into the stomach to provide satiety quicker.

Alternative treatment by means of gastric balloon is held for 6 month maximum. Once gastric balloon is removed, it may cause the disease relapse.

Placing the gastric balloon is helpful for obese patients, since it helps to change eating behavior and lifestyle. However, the procedure must be followed by individual diet and changed life span. Gastric balloon technique can be used as supporting measure to maintain a stable body weight.

Weight loss is minimum with gastric balloon.

Surgical treatment

Many researches and clinical trials have been held recently. Unfortunately they all prove that diet therapy, weight loss pills and surgical methods provide no equal results. The truth is that obesity therapy requires more time than couple of years. In order to make comparative research, scientists need to monitor obese patients for at least 5 or even 10 years, marking the results and making comparison between effectiveness of diet therapy, weight loss pills and surgery.

Speaking of surgical methods, they are many and they all depend on the BMI (body mass index). For instance, gastric banding is the safest and most effective surgical method of obesity treatment. Therefore lap-band is considered most preferable surgical procedure among many overweight people. Still, some find this method pretty expensive nowadays. There is alternative to it, it is gastric anastomosis (bypass surgery). As you know obesity is diagnosed when patient has got BMI 27-30 and more. Anyway there are people, who has BMI 60 and more, and thus the bypass surgery is the best solution for them. Still, any surgery must be chosen according to individual characteristics of every patient with obesity.

Bariatric surgery

This branch of surgery involves some surgical procedures, directed to cope with severe obesity. For instance, laparoscopic procedure is one of the most used method in modern medicine (particularly in the USA). In general these procedures consist of restrictive, malabsorption and combined methods of surgical treatment.

These methods speak for themselves. Restrictive procedures: gastroplasty helps to reduce size of stomach by means of gastrectomy. Once the stomach lumen is smaller, patient needs fewer amount of food to feel full.

Another procedure is gastric banding, which is also reduction of the stomach, plus formation of special subcutaneous reservoir. This reservoir is used to control the size of stomach, basically by means of introduction of saline solution.

Malabsorption procedures: anastomosis in small intestine. This procedure involves fistulization of small intestine, the part where nutrients are absorbed. It is quite complicated procedure among the rest ones.

And last but not least: combined surgery procedures. First of all, it is biliopancreatic diversion (BPD). The procedure involves stomach restriction, followed by duodenal switch. This method provides less food absorption and better results in weight loss.

Proximal anastomosis is highly popular in the USA these days. This method is characterized by that food is affected by bile and pancreatic juice in small intestines only.

Biliopancreatic diversion is a procedure, consisting of duodenal switch basically a vertical gastrectomy. This procedure is less complicated and involves fewer restriction of the stomach comparing to proximal anastomosis. Combined procedures are usually carried out in stages, since this method helps to get better weight loss results in complicated cases. For instance, surgeon can carry out proximal anastomosis(first stage) after he did gastric restriction. Because this method helps to avoid complications for the patient's state.

Risk of surgery and contraindications

It is known that any surgery is potentially harmful for the body and may cause some complications afterwards. Thus, according to SOS research (Sweden), about 13% of obese patients, who underwent alternative treatment of obesity (surgeries) have had post-surgical complications. There are some contraindications for obesity alternative treatment as well. These are:

Severe related diseases

Cognitive or mental disorders

Liver disorders

Portal hypertension

Unstable coronary artery disease (CAD)

Potential post-surgical complications

Probably the most severe and potentially dangerous post-surgical complication is pulmonary embolism. In this case, patient needs to undergo anticoagulant prophylaxis as soon as possible.

Other possible side effects and complications:

Infection of the stitches

Disruption

Bleeding

Incisional hernia (of the stitches)

Accidental splenectomy

Small bowel obstruction

Nausea

Vomiting (when eating too much and too fast)

Dumping syndrome (flushing, dizziness)

Diarrhea

Fatigue

Post-surgical period is characterized with the lack of nutrients and vitamins in the body. Therefore patients might need to take medications, containing Vitamins A, B12, D, E and K and also some protein complex.